Media development challenges in the MENA region

The media landscape in the MENA region has become complex due to the intertwining of political, economic and technological factors. This directly affects the media environment and weakens its ability to perform its essential role in promoting accountability, democracy and serving the public interest. Amid ongoing political crises, continuous conflicts, deteriorating economic conditions and rapid technological developments, media organizations operate under restrictive conditions characterized by shrinking freedom of expression and weak legal protections for journalists.

In this context, media sectors in several countries across the region face economic pressures such as unstable funding, alongside continuous threats affecting the majority of journalists particularly in active conflict areas such as the Palestinian territories, Syria, Yemen, and Sudan, as well as in countries going through post-conflict and unstable phases such as Iraq and Libya whether in their fieldwork or in digital spaces.

How aligned is donor support with the OECD’s six principles for effective media assistance? A new regional assessment, part of DW Akademie’s global State of Media Development Report, takes a closer look at this question in the context of the MENA region.

Principle 1: Do no harm to public interest media

Media organizations in the region face two types of harm in parallel, direct harm resulting from some donor interventions and local harm linked to the political and security environment. At the regional level, clear gaps have emerged, such as the weak integration of disability and equality issues, the decline of freedom of expression and the limited support provided to exiled journalists.

At the national level, challenges varied by context: in the Palestinian territories, government repression and restrictions on freedom of expression, along with funding freezes and the diversion of resources toward humanitarian aid represented the main risks. Yemen suffered from the absence of rapid and effective mechanisms to respond to crises and assess risks. In Syria, the highly dangerous environment and ongoing violations against journalists since 2011 posed a continuous threat both inside the country and in exile. Meanwhile, Tunisia faced the imposition of donor-driven agendas and the repetition of standardized trainings that did not align with local priorities.

Recommendation

There should be a safe and independent environment for journalists through comprehensive protection, inclusive and fair media policies and transparent, unconditional funding. One recommendation is to establish rapid response mechanisms and proactive risk assessments, while enhancing physical and digital safety and ensuring access to information. In addition, it emphasizes supporting journalists in exile through legal, psychological and financial assistance, as well as providing job opportunities that facilitate their professional integration.

Principle 2: Increase financial and other assistance

Media development organizations in the MENA region face several challenges decline in regional funding since 2019 compared to the significant increase in support across Europe, in addition to strict funding restrictions and conditional partnerships. These organizations also suffer from the absence of sustainable funding mechanisms and a lack of core funding, relying instead on limited and ineffective sources. Furthermore, there is bias among some donors in the selection of local partners, which undermines fairness in distributing opportunities. Important areas such as financial sustainability, capacity building, investigative journalism as well as legal and regulatory reforms remain underfunded, while emerging media institutions receive very limited financial support.

Recommendation

Funding should provide stable and long-term support that ensures the financial sustainability of independent media, free from political agendas and directed toward genuine developmental goals such as press freedom, capacity building and improved access to information. It is also essential to guarantee fair and balanced distribution of funding among organizations, with support for small and medium-sized institutions rather than concentrating resources in large entities. Finally, funding should be based on needs and impact assessments and remain flexible enough to cover essential operational costs.

Principle 3: Take a whole-of-system perspective

Media development organizations in the MENA region face several key challenges, most notably the lack of comprehensive analysis of the media and information environment and weak coordination among donors, international partners, and local actors. This leads to duplicated efforts and conflicting priorities. There is also a noticeable misalignment between donor agendas and the actual needs of media institutions and journalists, in addition to the difficulty of measuring the long-term impact of projects due to limited resources and complex circumstances. Moreover, donors often misunderstand the local political and social context.

Recommendation

The recommendations emphasize the need to align projects with the local and political contexts of each country, and to adopt a participatory approach that ensures the involvement of local actors at all stages, through an integrated framework that includes legal aspects, financing, infrastructure and capacity building. They also call for striking a balance between donor priorities and regional needs, supporting the local production of knowledge and relying on accurate needs assessments with long-term monitoring. In addition, it is essential to provide space for experimentation and innovation in media models and to strengthen regular coordination between donors and partners.

Principle 4: Local leadership and ownership

Media organizations in the MENA region face key challenges, including their limited involvement in the strategic phases of projects and the dominance of international partners over most financial resources, which leave only a small share actually reaching local actors. Added to this is donors’ lack of trust in local organizations due to policies and financial management, the financial and logistical burdens caused by the occasional reliance on foreign experts and the shortage of local expertise in certain specialized fields.

Recommendations

The recommendations focus on strengthening the leadership role of local actors by engaging them as strategic partners in all stages of project implementation, while building their capacities to reduce reliance on international experts and easing the requirements imposed on them when applying for funding. They also call for directing support to local and emerging organizations and investing in regional networks and alliances to enhance coordination and knowledge exchange.

Principle 5: Improve coordination

The challenges center on weak coordination in general, especially during crises, and the absence of effective action plans, in addition to the complex administrative burdens imposed by donors on local organizations, which lead to wasted time, effort and resources. They also include a lack of transparency and fairness in selecting funding recipients, limited flexibility from some donors, as well as ineffective support models that drain resources before reaching local organizations.

Recommendation

The recommendations focus on simplifying administrative procedures through a unified template and reducing intermediaries between donors and partners, while allocating a portion of funding for administrative costs to ensure efficient implementation. They also call for building regional networks and preparing national and regional advisors to coordinate media reform efforts and strengthen communication between policymakers and media organizations. In addition, they emphasize the importance of holding practical and regular meetings between donors and local partners to exchange expertise and effectively address challenges.

Principle 6: Invest in knowledge, research and learning

The main challenges include the lack of sufficient funding dedicated to research and learning, limited time due to administrative burdens and weak knowledge production and sharing in the media sector, in addition to the migration of skilled professionals because of low salaries. The excessive focus on implementation and quick results also comes at the expense of sustainable, evidence-based learning. There is a pressing need to adapt research methods to target audiences and to provide essential components such as reliable internet and additional resources to support development plans.

Recommendation

The recommendations emphasize integrating research into institutional strategies and programs, allocating a portion of budgets for research and learning and creating regional platforms and digital libraries to share knowledge and support local research agendas. They also focus on building the capacities of media development researchers, training them in evaluation mechanisms and developing local, regional and international research networks. Additionally, they stress the importance of knowledge documentation, results-sharing and reducing membership fees of media development networks to enable emerging media organizations to access resources.

Samar Sabry is the MENA region consultant for DW Akademie’s State of Media Development 2025 report. She holds a Master’s degree in Media Development and Media Institutions Management, with a special focus on the MENA region. She works as a freelance journalist and is currently an independent researcher in media development in the MENA region.